Bloody Sword
by Oto
Summary: Bloody Sword is a Game similar to the Hunger Games. This time, it includes swords and three fighters per city. There are ten cities of Goji, the country next to Panem.
1. Chapter 1

Bloody Sword

I'm trapped in an arena, sword in hand. I don't exactly know how I got there. Or how I got a sword. Then I realized I'm in the Bloody Sword arena. I scanned my surroundings. I saw trees, bushes, and a boys in orange equipped with long swords, charging at me. Wait, what?

I ran as fast as I could, dodging trees and breathing heavily. I didn't know where I was heading to, but it didn't matter anymore. Then I fell on a pile of leaves. Then the boys jumped on my back, making me wince in pain.

Then I felt a sharp point on my back, and that woke me up. My dog, Kagat, was jumping on my back, barking loudly. I calmed him down and patted his head. I lied down on my bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. I thought about my nightmare.

Bloody Sword is a yearly event in which the ten cities of Goji fight with swords in a big arena in the county's capital city, Forrohua. Three teenagers thirteen to nineteen are chosen to participate and represent their home city. Only one fighter, however, may be declared victor. All fights are aired on TV. Talk about ordeals.

In my city, Makizue, also known as '6th', has only three victors : Renoir, Shardaun, and Carol. They went through many sacrifices to emerge victorious. Renoir accidentally killed his teammate when he threw a branch with a bomb on a teen from the 3rd city, Ganrae, in the Final Three fighters in the arena. Shardaun was betrayed by his teammates and he ended up fighting with a teen from the 9th, Kynshi, against his teammates in the Final Six in the arena. Carol hid in the bushes until the Final Two. Then she threw her sword like a boomerang and it hit the remaining teen on the head from the 7th, Hortorro, and won.

I got off my bed and greeted my uncle, my only guardian, and headed straight towards the bathroom to, well, _bathe_. When I was thru, I left the house to see the mayor pick a name from the Platinum Goblet. My red shirt and jeans fitted me perfectly as I sprinted to the City Hall.

I made my way to the City Hall, where I saw Mayor Schroon with a tuxedo and the three victors with formal attires on stage. The place was full of people, but I made my way at the center just in time to see the mayor pick up a piece of paper from the Platinum Goblet. He raised the paper, as if the people could read that from afar, and read it.

"First fighter is," he began. "Summer Meringue!"

A girl with a pink shirt and jeans, I assume she's Summer, approached the stage confidently. The victors greeted her, so does the mayor.

"Okay now," the mayor picked up another piece of paper from the Goblet. "The second fighter is..." he squinted at the paper, unable to read the name properly. "Theo Nadalle!"

A boy with a yellow shirt and shorts, I guess he's Theo, approached the stage and fist bumped the victors and Daisy.

I was about to leave the City Hall when the third name was called.

"And the third fighter is... Wilt Tigerclaw!" Mayor exclaimed.

I ran to the stage. Thank goodness! It's me!

On stage, I felt vertigo when I looked at the crowd. Eyes blinked everywhere. Heads moved all around. I wanted to throw up until Theo fist bumped me, and I made myself steady again.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Makizue, these are the chosen fighters for the 70th Bloody Sword Games!" The mayor turned to the victors. "Are you willing to train our fighters?"

The victors immediately nodded. The mayor smiled and turned to the audience. "Thank you all for coming!" The audience grew wild in response.

After the people had cleared out, the victors approached us.

"Hello, Summer, Theo, and Wilt," Renoir said, looking at each of us. The three of us are practically the same height. "We're going to train you. Be at the Vera Forest at noon sharp tomorrow."

We nodded and the victors left. Theo looked unimpressed. "So much for advice."

"That's Renoir all right," I said to him. "When he won, he never acted the same..."

"When he killed Reyna," Summer continued.

"It was a sad win for him," Theo said.

We all agreed. Then we went back to our homes.

Before I reached my house, three men in black suits pinned me down. I struggled and tried to hit them, but it ceased when a man pointed a gun at my head.

"Take him in, boys." The man with a gun commanded. Then I looked up and saw the man. He wore a white mask, same with the men who pinned me down, but this time the mask had red marks on it as if he got scratched by a cat. He also wore a long, black robe.

I realized who the man's voice was : Kyrie, a victor of the 7th, Hortorro, who viogorously slashed nine fighters in the Final Ten in a row. But the question still raced in my mind, _why is he here?_

The men carried me up. I immediately kicked a man in the stomach, and he flinched. I ran to the nearest tree but Kyrie grabbed my shoe and raised me upside-down.

The next thing I knew before I was knocked out was a shoe slamming into my face.

Still can't believe that I am a fighter. Never really expected it. Honest. I'd rather be watching fighters in the arena, not me being watched in the arena. But maybe I was just a little lucky today.

Anyhow, I was happily dancing my way home until a tiger appeared. Yes, I swore I wasn't hallucinating. A tiger with razor-sharp teeth, a grouchy countenance, and all the other features a tiger has, only much scarier.

The tiger took a few steps before I wet myself. I became stiff. My teeth were chattering.

Before the tiger pounced, a man with a mask stopped the tiger when he raised his hand. He must be the tiger's owner, which freaked me out. Who is scarier, the man or the tiger?

The next thing I knew, the tiger pounced at me, slashing me with its razor-sharp claws.

I've seen teens my age (which is thirteen) fighting in the arena. I've seen them suffer, kill and die. But I've never expected to become a fighter myself. But as I was walking to my house, my courage was lost. Men were surrounding me, guns pointed. I panicked.

Until one man with a mask and red marks stopped them. The men placed their guns down. Then the man made a twirl with his wrist. Then the men charged at me. I kicked one. Punched one. Slapped one. But I was still outnumbered. I ran towards the man in a mask and punched him.

His mask had a fist mark. Then the mask fell, revealing a Frenchman with a pointy mustache and a newly shaved beard. His eyes gleamed.

Before I recognized him, he kicked my stomach with lightning speed. I blacked out.

When I woke up, I saw Theo and Summer, gagged and chained. They were either sleeping, or knocked out, like me. I scanned the area and hesitated. I was in a storage room with frozen fish!

I tried to reach Theo, but I myself am in chains, too.

Then Theo woke up and his eyes widened.

"What's going on?" he asked nervously.

I placed my


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The masked man knelt next to me. I felt a chill down my spine.

"Hello, Wilt." His peppermint breath tickled my nose.

"What do you want?" I said confidently.

The man slapped my face. I lost my breath for a while. "Acting confident, eh?" He looked at me with his amber eyes through the holes of his mask, which made me more scared. "Don't do that, Wilt boy."

"Hey, knock it off!" Theo yelled. The masked man stood up and approached Theo and kicked his face.

"The tiger should've finished you off instead!"

Then, the door burst open. The victors! The trio surrounded the masked man.

"Incognito again, Kyrie?" Asked Renoir.

The masked man, Kyrie, grunted. "You should've knocked."

Shardaun chuckled. "Don't make us laugh."

Kyrie jumped and kicked Carol, but Carol evaded and punched Kyrie on the stomach. Kyrie landed on Shardaun, who shoved Kyrie to Renoir. Renoir punched the man's mask and it shattered, revealing a face full of scars and bruises. Kyrie fell.

Carol looked at the three of us. "You need medical help. Pronto."

The three victors carried each of us outside. As Renoir carried me, I saw where Kyrie hid us : a warehouse near the city borders, which is a couple of miles away from my house.

We reached the City Hall, and they laid us on a soft cushion of grass and unchained us. That's when Summer woke up.

"We want answers." I demand.

"Fine," Renoir sighed. "Kyrie, the masked man, captured you guys and brought you to the warehouse to kill you before the Games. He did that last year in the 9th. He killed the fighters there to eliminate them from the Games. He's one heck of a terrorrist."

"Why does he want to eliminate them?" Asked Theo.

"To defend the title of the 7th as the most number of victors in Bloody Sword history. Since the 9th is catching up, he killed their fighters." Shardaun explained.

Something's still not right. "Why does he want to kill us, then? We only have three victors."

The victors paused. "I don't really know. Maybe he's just a plain ol' terrorrist." Explained Carol.

I know they're hiding something, because it doesn't make sense.

* * *

><p><strong>I think they're telling the truth. But Kyrie's modus operandi isn't quite clear.<strong>

** "Plain ol' terrorrist?" I asked. **

** "A crazy person with no plan at all. He just does it for the sake of elimination." Renoir said.**

** "I'm glad we're out of there." Summer said.**

** "I agree." Wilt said.**

** Shardaun clapped his hands. "Maybe let's start exercising now that you were attacked and well-rested."**

** "Fine. I'd love to flex my stiff muscles anyway." I said.**

** "Good," Renoir scans us three. "But you need to get to the clinic first to have your injuries checked." **

** "Yeah." Carol said. **

** We all agreed and went to the Makizue Clinic, where Dr. Surge was busy reading a newspaper. He looked at us when we entered and knew what to do immediately. He called his nurses and they laid the three of us down on a bed. A nurse dabbs a cold towel on my bruised cheek. I saw Dr. Surge talking to the three victors.**

* * *

><p><em>My bruises are now less painful and wounds washed. I felt great. But my muscles were indeed stiff. I couldn't flex them properly. It's a good thing Shardaun decided that we should exercise so our muscles would be much better. We started with jogging, then flexing muscles, then touching toes. The three of us grunted every time we stretched.<em>

_ "I'm feeling better already," Theo said, stretching. Then he bent his back until we heard a 'crack!'. Theo laughed. Then we all laughed._

_"Nice one, guys." Shardaun said. "Be fit and fast to keep your head up in the arena." _

_"You mean like this?" Theo looked up, head facing the sky. _

_"Not that kind, it's just a figure of speech which means 'staying alive in the arena'." Shardaun chuckled. _

_"Right, I knew that." Theo said._

* * *

><p>We were dismissed and we went home. But when I got home, I saw my uncle with guards in black armor. The armor crest had a fancy '1' on it. My expression dropped at once when I saw them armed with black knives with pointed blades. They were pointed at my uncle. I realized they were the Forrohuan knights, knights that work for the president of Goji, Gustaffe Demarche, whose hometown is Forrohua.<p>

"Put him down," I ordered. "He's innocent."

A knight laughed hysterically. "Innocent?" He mocked. "He's a rebel!"

Questions and doubts filled my mind. "He's not!"

The knight laughed once more, which made my fists clench. "Oh, really? Do you know where he works?"

That froze me. He works at... at... My expression darkened. "He works at Leber-ation Headquarters. He's the vice-president."

"Leber-ation... what do they do?" The knight pressed on.

"They help in the city's freedom. Liberation says it all."

"Partially true. Liberation is spelled as 'L-e-b-e-r-a-t-i-o-n' in your uncle's job. And 'Leber' is 'rebel' backwards."

That felt like a punch in the gut. Leber-ation. Rebel. Freedom. Then the puzzle pieces were forming a picture : my uncle's a rebel. He disobeys the laws of Goji.

"He came from Panem, a neighboring country." The knight said, nudging at my uncle.

I turn to my uncle. "Is that... true?"

He gave a slight nod. Then he threw his hands up for the knights to handcuff him. Then the knight gestured at a backpack on the couch. "That's all your things. Now leave. And don't look back." The knight ordered.

I nodded and slung the backpack on my shoulders. I looked at my uncle one last time, who was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't figure it out. I think he mouthed :_ I love you_. Then tears fell down as I left the house. I ran to the City Hall, where Theo was resting on a bed of grass.

He saw me and straightened up. "Hey, Wilt." He looked at my backpack suspiciously. "Why does your bag have lots of items?"

I explained how the knights took my uncle and instructed me to leave and never look back. It was quite long, though. But Theo's expression brightened when I told him about no place to stay.

"Sure, you could stay with me." Theo said.

"Thanks, Theo," I said.

I've got a place to stay. But something about my uncle gives me doubts.


End file.
